


To cleanse Lumina from Thorn, It Requires a Rose.

by Dredgen_Smoothie



Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: Angst, Destiny 2, Destiny 2 fanfic, EDZ, Guardian - Freeform, Humor, Lumina - Freeform, Malfeasance, Multi, Thorn - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-10
Updated: 2020-07-19
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:08:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25183780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dredgen_Smoothie/pseuds/Dredgen_Smoothie
Summary: With the Darkness coming closer with every season, Renida and Faren have moved to a place in the EDZ and set up a home.They have built up the small destroyed Village from the Red War and made it into a stable place once more.But as Renida struggles with messages from the Darkness, The light begins to speak to her as well.Faren on the other hand is looking into the strange altercations that the EDZ has begun to share, During his quest and old friend comes back.One he sent away, and for good reason. Equinox-3, A guardian EXO that turned down the wrong path and found Thorn, and the Shadows.Upon his arrival Renida is happily pleased, but is he really here just to ‘Catch up’ Faren thinks otherwise.
Relationships: Darkness/The Drifter (Destiny), Female Guardian/Male Guardian (Destiny), The Drifter/Female Guardian (Destiny)
Kudos: 1





	1. Welcome home

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to something my brother and I have been working on for well, Two years.  
> Our Characters have gone from Destiny 2 gameplay options to our own stories.  
> We have been making Lore for them and finally have something continuous.  
> I find it hilarious that after two years he comes to be and says “WAIT.” We then realized that the three each wield/Relate a version of the cursed gun Thorn.   
> Equinox-3, Wielder of ‘Thorn’.  
> Renida ‘Rose’ a name she gave herself long ago.   
> Faren, wielded of ‘Lumina’.
> 
> Equinox-3 - grey and black EXO with a firework personality, His intentions remain unknown but Faren doesn’t enjoy him at all.
> 
> Renida Rose, A soft red head awoken lady who grew up on the EDZ YEARSS by herself and her ghost, She doesn’t understand euphemisms but she believes everyone is a good person.
> 
> Faren Kkorv, The Blue protective book smart Warlock with a standoff-ish personality. He is learning to be a better person as the days go by, Ego similar to Osiris.

Renida sat on the window sill as she watched the rain fall, cradling a cup of tea in her hands as she noticed the mailman walking from their mountain home. She dreaded that she would have to get up and go out in the rain but she was curious about the letter, as she started to wonder what it could be.. Faren’s voice rang through in a loud yell “RENIDA!” In a quick start she panics and falls off the window sill and onto the ground with a loud thump. Scrambling up and running up the stairs to the sound of Faren yelling her name.

“Look at what I have discovered! I have figured out to recreate Glowstone from the previous broken dust we collected!”  
Renida stares at him for a moment and then at the Glowstone he so kindly handed to her “You- .... This is amazing” she said as she bit her tongue, smiling weakly at him.

“I was able to make it from mixing Glowdust and... well....Are you okay?”   
She looked up from the Glowstone, her clothes and hair messy from the fall “Yeah you just startled me.. that’s all”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” She waved him off and admired the light in her hands “This could help light up the entire village! And the best part, it does not burn when you touch it!”   
He blinks and nods “I didn’t even notice that.. You are correct, this item will help the village and keep it safe” he nodded.

Equinox made his way up the stairs, Faren locks eyes with the Exo and his happiness fades.  
Faren pushes past Equinox to go downstairs, his shoulder colliding with the Exo as he stomps off.

“Who kicked his cat?” Equinox muttered as he looks at Renida, she in turn looked puzzled “Faren has a cat?” He looks at her for a second before remembering she doesn’t understand euphemism. “No.. Well basically, why is he acting so rude?”  
Renida looks towards the steps with a sigh “I think he’s just busy with his work,” Equinox’s fist tightens as he mutters “Lumina”

“Huh?” Renida looks at him in confusion “It’s that gun, it’s manipulating him. Making him see us as the enemy.” His words were low with anger.

“No, I don’t think that-“ 

“I left you here with him, as much as I didn’t want to.. I wanted to keep you safe. But I thought you could help change him for the better,” Renida looks at him with a pouted lip, soaking up his lies completely.  
“He just needs time, Please-“ she gently puts a hand on his arm “Just give us that”

He looks down as his eyes shine through the brim of his brow  
“The line between light and dark is so very thin,” he turns to look at her “Do YOU know which side you’re on?” Renida’s eyes shown fear as she let go of his arm and took two steps back.  
“Equinox-“  
“Hah, I’m just messing with ya” he grins and places an arm over her shoulder “How’d you like my Uldren impression. Great, right?”   
She remained silent for a moment before a forced awkward laugh slipped through her lips, one that faded quickly as her eyes still looked uncomfortable “You really had me worried there,” He shrugs and pats her back “Sorry about that”   
There’s a quietness that’s follows, the kind that makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand as you can’t quite know where to start.  
“I... need to go get the mail-“ she started, backing away before heading back downstairs.  
“Alright, have fun” he watched her leave before walking over to the couch and plopping down with a loud thump.

Renida strolled down the hill as she approached their mailbox, taking a moment to smile at the handwritten sign Equinox made above the mailbox. She reached in as she saw the single letter, the symbol on it was something ominous.. Familiar but unknown, she stared at it with worry as she saw it was written for Equinox.   
She stood there and pondered her options for a bit, the way back home was tense as it felt like cold unseen eyes were boring into her light.

As soon as she made it home she dead bolted the front door instantly, standing there for a moment before speaking “Faren....?” Her call was weak, echoing softly through the hallway as he made his way into the room “Hmm?” 

“Equinox got this letter and...Do you know what symbol this is?” She asked as she turned the envelope to face him, handing it to Faren without another word.  
“...”   
Faren began to open it instantly.  
“Faren!” She tried to reach for the envelope “you can’t do that!” He kept it out of her reach as he turned his back from her.  
“It’s not right! We can’t do this, Faren give it back!” She huffed as she kept trying to snake her little hands around to grab it.  
Faren in turn decided to use his height advantage and raise the Envelope out of her reach, Renida stood on her tip toes and tried to hop to grab it.. Instead she knocked it from his grasp and the letter was thrown across the room.

They both stared at it for a second, then slowly looked at each other.  
Renida ran and snatched it, backing up towards the corner as she held it close. This time she was scared of the letter containing something of The Drifter, or their plan. Faren has been more open to him more than ever, if there’s even a small blemish on Dee’s new route.. 

Faren sighed “Alright Renida, it’s your decision. I know you will make the right choice.” He goes to leave, Guilt ways heavy on her as she finally speaks “wait!” He stops, she places it into his palm “Just.. here-“   
He takes it and nods “You don’t have to stay if you don’t want to,”   
She nods and decides to walk outside before her tears spill.

The letter contains hints that Equinox was here for something he forgot, this X claims ‘what, have you gone soft? Wait till the boss hears about this’

Faren finishes reading it and heads upstairs   
“Equinox”  
“Faren”  
“Something in the mail came for you today,” Faren hands the letter over.

Equinox thanks him as Renida realized Faren had left the room, she goes towards the hallway quickly with worry as she almost runs into Faren.  
“We have to keep an eye on him.. We can’t let him leave, not until we know what he is doing.”

“Are you saying we should.. bug his ship?” Renida asked, how odd she knew about the phrase. Try not to think to hard on it.

“You know, that’s even better-“  
Faren begins, Renida puts a small hand up “No, I’m not siding with the Vanguard, Faren” she said as the idea sounded too much like it was for the tower. 

“Ok, then you know a lot about ships, do you think you could disable it?” She nodded “I’ll need some time, but I can do it”  
“Excellent, then I will keep him distracted while you handle the ship”

As they spoke, Suddenly there was a sound of stomping from upstairs followed by a slam on the front door.  
They both looked up towards the ceiling as it happened, Faren went to the second front door and tried to look for Equinox but with no avail.  
“We better do it soon.”  
“Are you sure this is a good idea?...” she asks him, he nods “If you want to keep us and the Dredgens safe, we are doing the right thing.”

Renida yawned as she crawled out of her small bed, rubbing her eyes as sleepiness threatened to take her once more.  
She got up with a small stumble and waddled towards the kitchen with her blanket draped over her shoulders.   
Equinox was sitting at the kitchen table, however she didn’t even notice him as she opened up the fridge.  
She didn’t feel like eating as she sat there, Equinox’s voice rang through the peaceful silence “Good morning-“ Renida screams in surprise, accidentally closing her hand in the fridge door with a loud whine.   
“Ow-“

Faren entered the room in an instant, Lumina drawn and pointed directly at Equinox’s head “Whoa hey!-“ Equinox yelled as he put his hands up in defense.  
Renida looked up from her hand and tried to reason with Faren “Nothing happened! He didn’t do anything, Just startled me that’s all!” Faren squinted and walked up to Equinox as he holstered Lumina.  
“Is there going to be a problem?” Faren spoke lowly as he remained in Equinox’s face, the EXO remained still as he spoke in a threatening tone “Only if you make one”.

Faren squinted and turned away, walking into the bedroom where angry scribbling could be heard from the kitchen.  
Equinox sighed and looked towards the window as he pondered his options “You know, I think my next stop will be Eur-....euro...pe... yeah.” He tried to keep Europa a secret.  
“Oh, tell Dee I said hey,”  
“I think I will be leaving now”   
Renida mentally almost smacked herself as she remembered the ship “WAIT!” She yelled before he could leave the room,  
Once again Faren was there with his hand on Lumina, his brain wired as he remained on edge for anything Equinox has planned.

“You can’t leave yet, we haven’t had breakfast!”

“I don’t even need to eat.”  
Equinox shot a look between the two Awoken as he spoke a lie “Ana needs me, she told me that we need to get Rasputin up and running again before The Darkness comes, so I think I need to leave”

Faren straightened himself as he spoke “Equinox, I have something to show you.”

Renida started side stepping towards the exit, before blurting out “Umm, I have a feeling my farm is in trouble, GOTTA GO-“ before booking it out of the house and slamming the front door behind her.

“So she is just.. yeah.. anyways.” Faren lead Equinox out the door as Renida had bolted to Equinox’s ship.

“Really, your farm is in trouble?” Enzo teases as she made her way inside the hangar doors “it’s all I could think of, okay! I was running out of options!” She slid under the control panel and messed about with the wires, Enzo transmitting her helm on as sparks started to fly.

Faren lead Equinox to the Pyramid that stayed above their mountain “This. It’s been here for days.. it’s just waiting, unmoving” Equinox stares at it as he keeps his motives to himself, nodding “So The Darkness has found you two..” “This is why I need to get back to Mars.”

Faren could no longer stop him as Equinox turned and started his way towards the ship.

Renida fixes it and stood, wiping her forehead and unknowingly creating a grease mark across it as she ran back to the house, meeting up with Faren with small huffs of breath “Did you get it set up?” “Yeah, I got it”   
“You got something right here-“ Faren wipes at his own brow, Renida looks upwards “Oh! Thanks,” she wiped off the grease on her forehead. 

They both watch Equinox try to leave, the Engine starts but begins to sputter before puffing our black smoke and shutting down.  
“He is not going to be happy about this..”

“[CENSORED]” Equinox yelled loudly, slamming his fist on the controls as he tries again, and again, annnddd againnn...  
He swears continuously as he finally walks out of the ship, messing with the side components and getting frustrated. He grabbed his blade and began hacking into the side of the ship, cutting away with pure rage as some villagers stared from far off with scared expressions.  
“[CENSORED CENSORED CENSORED] Why won’t you work you- [CENSORED]” He carved large holes into the side as dark metallic liquid started to pour from the gashes.   
Renida tries to ignore the swears as they both watch him make it even worse..

Her brain starts to worry about how angry he is, and she begins to doubt him.

“I’m sure he’s just mad” she says more to herself than Faren.  
“Yeah.. that’s what that is” Faren says as they both watch a large spark build into a flame, Equinox starts to swear more and more as suddenly his ship explodes.  
“Wow” Faren says as pieces go flying, Renida watches for the fire to spread onto the homes.

“That makes me feel better.. It’s like that dreadful feeling is gone, I don’t even sense anything bad from Lumin-“ he stops as his hand rests on his empty holster

“That’s very odd how this could stop the feeling-“ Renida looked at Faren as his face shown how his heart sunk “It’s not there.” He says as his hand grabs around at the empty space, he instantly looks down towards Equinox with solar dancing in his vision.

“Wait, maybe you just left it in your room?” She reasons as she gently pushes him towards the house, worried they might kill each other if she doesn’t get him to leave.

“I never misplace it.” They go around checking the entire bedroom, Study, Hallway, and work around the kitchen.  
Renida crawls to check under the kitchen table as suddenly the front door slams “RENIDA!” Equinox yells loudly, In her surprise she bangs her head on the kitchen table when she goes to stand, grabbing at her head as she crawls out “ow- yeah?” 

“I need you to fix my ship, you can do that, right?” She nods “sure! It may take a little while though!” He hides his anger with a short “Thank you” and headed back outside.

Renida checks everywhere, even the restroom, as she finally lays her eyes on Equinox’s door.  
Her hand hesitates as she reached for the handle, eventually turning it and heading inside.  
The Darkness of the room was immense, almost as if it drained out any bright lanterns placed.  
The room was suffocating.

She checked the drawers and paused to look at the map he had at his desk, showing that of the pyramids location.  
She realizes that there is something in the darkest corner of the room, she backs away in fear but eventually tries to be brave.. She makes her way towards it and slowly sticks her hand into the darkness, she is met with... the wall.  
She laughs at herself for a moment for being over reactive until the darkness grabs her arm.  
She stands there frozen as the vice grip around her wrist burns with a cold lick.

She backs up quickly and bumps into the desk, the darkness lets go and she sees the imprint of four fingers around her wrist.  
She trembles and covers it up with her sleeve as she quickly exits the room and closes the door behind her.

Equinox made his way into the Pyramid as he carried the beloved [redacted] in his grip.  
He offers [redacted] to [redacted]  
“Finally, this will fix the issue” 

Faren eventually walks into the kitchen to find Lumina waiting on the table for him, he takes it and places it in his holster and heads into the bedroom.  
Renida cautiously makes her way into the room, scared of her every shadow as Faren seems to be wrapped up in his journal 

“You found it!” She says as he nods “It was on the kitchen table” 

She looked puzzled “But I checked that place.. at least I think I did” her memories were getting fuzzy “Indeed, so did I. I’d say we should keep our guard up”

She nods and rubs her eyes, yawning softly as she goes to talk some more to him but notices he seems to be writing with intent.  
She decides to roll up in her blankets and go to sleep.

Faren scribbled away in his journal as his body felt like he shouldn’t stay here.

I need to leave, I need to leave, I need to leave, I need to leave-


	2. Reversing The Cleanse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Renida is getting visions from the Traveler and the Pyramids, it seems to grow worse when Lumina and Thorn fight.

As the day grew into morning, Renida noticed how quiet the house was, She couldn’t stop the feeling as if something was wrong as she closed her journal. As she stood and stretched she noticed how shaky her legs felt. Renida’s hand coming to rest on the door frame as she called out for the others “Farennn?””Equinox?” She called into The Darkness. 

Somewhere else Faren stood beneath the Pyramid that lurked near their home, his eyes burning deep into the hull of what remained dormant at their doorstep. He soon self the oppressive power that came from it in waves.   
“...” Faren walks away from the ship, his mind elsewhere as he headed towards the house.

Renida noticed how dark the house was as she looked down the hall with worry, wondering why there was no trace of the others. She rolled up her sleeves and took a small glance at her bandaged arm, the feeling of a hand remained even under the layers of bandages.  
She decided to pull the sleeve back down and head to the garden. Much to her surprise, Faren was standing right outside the door as she opened it “Hi Renida”   
She placed a hand to her heart as he startled her for a moment “Oh H-Hey,” she calmed herself instantly as he stood there with a more tired aura.

“I was just out for a walk.” He says as he remained there, his eyes looked dark and his skin seemed paler than usual..   
Renida tilted her head and scanned his features “You feeling okay?” She asked as he seemed to radiate something... off.

“Oh, I couldn’t sleep a wink last night.. So I walked about.” She moves away from the door so he can enter, his boots echoing softly as he passed her and walked towards their room without another word.

“Hmm, Thats odd.. Maybe it was the rain keeping you up? It can be rather noisy sometimes..”   
“I suppose... But I’ve slept through it before.” Faren doesn’t seem to be looking at her, staring at one of the open books on his desk.  
“Well, Next time let me know.. I’m sure we have a large mallet around here somewhere” She smiles at her own joke as a small chuckle escapes Faren’s lips. “That-“ he paused as he closed the book and turned to look at her with a more serious tone “To be honest with you...”  
His hand remained at the desk as he continued “Lumina doesn’t feel right at all... And I felt a strange sensation pulling me to that ship..”   
“The Darkness ship..”  
Renida looked towards his holster as her brow knitted together, She has heard of weaponry being forged with ill intent but maybe they were wrong.  
“From what you said before... The Darkness is just trying to mess with us, right?... Maybe it’s trying to trick you?” She twiddled with her fingers as she spoke.

“Yes but I didn’t think that Lumina would be so easily affected..” Faren says as he seems to fade, like he is reflecting on something he hesitated to mention.

Renida thinks back to when it went missing, how they both checked that table before.. 

“But what concerns me most is how crazy it made me feel.”  
“Crazy?” She shook away her thoughts as she tried to catch his eyes, but they seemed to be hidden in his hair as he flipped through his journal for a moment.  
“Yes.. look at the entry I made.”  
He handed it over to her with his thumb resting as a open bookmark, she took it with slightly shaky hands.  
There’s a moment of silence as Renida read over the writing that looked cut off. Wrong.. Rushed?

___________________  
I lost Lumina

I found Lumina

sOMETHIng’s different  
I feel different.   
Perhaps it is because of my exposure to the darkness. Even Lumina feels strange. I will leave I will leave I will leave

I must leave.

X  
________________

“Faren this... This doesn’t look good”   
“No... I’ve never written like that before..” Faren spoke as it shook Renida to the core while she read the final page over once more.  
“And-“ he scratches his head as his eyes wandered off “-It’s happened before.. I was frightened by myself, so I tore the pages out..”

“It was blasphemous...”  
“Faren, I think you need to cleanse Lumina” she spoke as she closed the book with a small ‘thump’   
He looked at her offended as she finished her sentence “But Lumina IS a cleansed ROSE! It is the definition of CLEANSED!” He argued as he outstretched his arms.  
“Annnddd? It could get dirty!” She said with a shrug.  
“Renida,” he paused “You’re right...” Renida handed the book over as he began to think “I took Lumina to The Darkness ship.” 

“And- this time it wanted to go back. I felt strange the first time.. And I doubt it just grew worse on its own.” He placed his Journal in his storage cabinet as Renida watched “Well.. you’ve cleansed it once.. You can do it again, right?.. Unless it’s reverting back” she paused as she began to think on that.  
“Which is why I need to cleanse it.. I just need more light”   
“We can’t go back to the Traveler without a ship.. And the only ship we have is well.. yeah-“ she tugged at her robes collar as she briefly remembered Equinox’s show down with his own ship.  
“Just please tell me if this happens again, we should keep it away from that Pyramid.” She settles as he nods   
“Yes.. I agree.” 

There’s a moment of silence before Renida’s soft spoken tone broke through “Faren..”   
He looked towards her without a word as she took a second to continue.  
“That day it went missing.. You don’t think..”  
As Faren watched he could see how she shrunk away, guilty of her own thoughts  
“It was on the dining table.” She seems to be telling herself “But I checked there already, so did you.. And we didn’t see a Equinox during our entire search...”

“He was acting rushed that day..” Faren helps as he could see her struggling to accept the truth.   
“But he does have a lot going on, He has Ana to worry about, AndAnd a lot of work to keep on his shoulders..” Renida, the voice of reason. She would always see the good in everyone.

“That is true” Faren spoke.  
__________

Equinox took Lumina to the Darkness ship that day, he offered the Darkness Lumina.   
And from that the Darkness took to Lumina with a hunger. 

The darkness was absorbed into Lumina.  
He rushed back home with a successful surge of energy.

___________

“I will confront him.” Faren finally said, taking a step forward.  
Renida began to panic internally “But you don’t know if it was him-“ “It could be a number of reasons-“ 

Her excuses were starting to get tiresome.  
“Renida, Just-.... You might want to leave the house for a while.” 

Her hands started to wring around each other absentmindedly “I’m not leaving.. If it gets to bad-“   
“Renida. You might not like what you see.”  
She could see the determination glowing from Faren, it made her heart fill with dread.  
“Faren I’m not going to let you both destroy what little family we have left..“

“And I won’t let him hurt you.”   
He spoke as he seemed to be eyeing the hallway now.   
“He won’t.” She tried to give him reassurance, but it couldn’t get through his intent right now.

“There can’t be a good reason for him taking Lumina... that is.. if he did.”  
She couldn’t hide the hurt look in her gaze, knowing Faren was speaking the truth “You’re right but.. We aren’t sure..” she sighs, her vision getting dizzy for a moment. She closes her eyes. 

“I will be outside, But I will be close”

“Good..” Faren walked towards the hallway, Renida took a few steps towards the door.

“And Faren,” “Be safe, alright?”

“I will.”

She hesitates at the door but eventually she leaves, the soft click of the door echoed behind her.

He nodded reassuringly as they bid their goodbye, but once the door closed his face fell to a serious gaze.

He headed down the hallway as he locked eyes with a dark material on the wood “Wait.. blood?”  
He followed the trail till he landed exactly where he knew it would come from.  
“Equinox’s room”   
He entered as the dark aroma of the room drowned out the light, even with the small space it looked unkept.

Some magazines littered the floor between his unmade bed and the desk while dark banners hung from the ceiling and creating even more shadows around, Clothes seem to be thrown about and the trash can looked far from empty, Yeah this was his room alright. 

Faren turned his nose in disgust till his eyes locked onto the map resting on the wall above the study area.   
“Th-.. This map.... There’s more?!”   
“Yeah.. there is.” Equinox’s voice rung through as Faren turned quickly to see the Exo standing in the door way.  
“Faren..” he remarked in an ominous way “Haven’t I told you not to go snooping in my things?” 

Meanwhile outside...

Once outside the house, Renida felt herself growing dizzy once more and leaned against the wall by the door, eventually sliding down to a sitting position as she hugged her knees, A headache coming on in strong waves.

As she sat there with her eyes closed, She felt as if The Darkness and Light were starting to fight. 

Faren glared as he asked “What did you DO to me?” Equinox straightened himself as he scowled “No, I’m fixing what YOU DID.. Thorn was an incredible weapon!” He accused the Awoken. “And now, it will be a Thorn again!” 

“No, I won’t let you!” Faren glared.   
“You better be glad I’m simply taking the gun..” Equinox squinted as he continued “My orders were to take Renida and Rose to be...optimized” Faren clenched his fist in anger “YOU-“ “But..” Faren paused to let him finish.  
“I underestimated your intelligence... You got the jump on me and I barely got away with my life, let alone your gun..”  
Faren switched his weight to his other leg as he spoke “So Renida will sadly remain out of the grasp of the Shadows of Yor.” 

“Exactly.” 

“So- So it’s true, Then?!” Faren yelled as he finally understood Equinox was completely engulfed by the Shadows. 

Equinox tsked with a small shrug “Don’t be dramatic” 

Faren glared at him “Equinox, They are bad people! They want-“ Equinox cut him off.. “Power.. Power to overcome our enemies.” Equinox took a step closer as he continued “They want to show everyone the beauty of the Dark.”  
Faren remained unmoving as he tried to reason with Equinox. “Equinox, you used to be respectable, but now-“

“I don’t care what you think of me.. But I’m taking Lumina, and leaving Renida.” 

Faren watched the husk of the man they once knew. “You can’t go.. Renida disabled your ship”

“I know. You think I don’t know when my ship is messed with?” 

“Then, that was all an act, Ey?” Faren crosses his arms as Equinox continued

“Yep. I wanted to see what you would do, now that I was ‘stuck’ here. But you let your guard down, feeling powerful. And from that I took your gun to the Darkness”

“As I suspected. It’s been driving me insane..”

“That’s no concern of mine.. goodbye, Faren. Don’t try to stop me.”  
Equinox glared as he turned to leave, looking over his shoulder for a finally last words  
“Oh, and tell the Drifter—“   
Equinox suddenly looked worried, running out of the room without finishing his sentence  
“HEY!” Faren chased after him. 

Outside, Renida’s head grew more and more gnawing, like a pulse that grew with each new heartbeat.   
A ringing sound formed from within as the Darkness and Light struggled to tell her all that she could not understand, They were not English, Eliksni, or any other dialect that a individual could understand, instead it remained forbidden.  
As it grew louder she grabbed at her skull, trying to cover her ears as she started to mutter something under her breath.

The more it rang, Renida felt herself tangle her hands within her hair “s-stop... stop it..” she begged. “Stop.. stop it!... SHUT UP!” 

Equinox ran out the front door, his mind filled with dread as he ignored the yelling coming from behind him, Faren gaining on him with each stride as Equinox finally skids to a stop once outside.  
“Don’t touch her!” Faren yelled, stopping right behind him as Equinox paid him no mind.  
“Oh no.. They’ve come.” They could hear the roar of something entering the atmosphere.

Faren looked to his left as he heard a whimper and realized Renida was curled up in an uncomfortable ball, hugging her legs as her head hid as far as it could go. 

Silence, Renida blinked and looked up and around as the ringing had stopped. 

Faren runs to her side, his hands gently resting on her shoulder “Are you alright?” 

She nods as she palms her forehead “I’m fine.. Just a headache—“   
“You said— Alright... as long as you’re fine.” Faren could see she was hiding more than she let on..

Two ships enter the atmosphere.

“Who are they?” Renida turns and looks towards the ships, changing the subject as Equinox replied   
“The Shadows...”  
Faren looked towards the Exo, who refused to look back at them “Equinox, what have you done?”   
“I took too long.. They’ve come to do the job for me.”

Renida looked pleadingly at Faren “We need to leave, We still have time to escape if we start now-“  
“NO!” Equinox turned to face them “I know how we work.. They’ll threaten the Village.”   
Renida stood up and gave Faren a gentle pat before he moved away from her “Then we fight.”  
Equinox shook his head “There’s about thirteen guardians on that ship. They all use stasis”   
“Well Phoey.”   
Equinox pondered for a second “If we don’t want things to get messy.. You guys have to follow my lead”  
“LIKE WE WOULD EVER-“ Faren started, Renida cut him off “Alright..” she didn’t completely trust Equinox, but she knew she wasn’t alone. And if it was a trap; she would just kill him.  
Wait... No... She would never.. Why was she thinking that?

“You’re just going to have to trust me..”  
Faren looked towards Equinox, Renida and then the Shadows “...”


	3. The Shadows of Yor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Shadows of Yor work for one man, we have yet to know who that is.. Has Equinox really Betrayed his friends?..

“....Fine, but if you try anything..”  
Faren started as he pointed at Equinox, Equinox rolled his eyes “Then you’ll kill me, I get it, I get it.”

The three watched as Five shadows approached, No commotion is in the village except for the curious eyes of some villagers. But most seemed to go back into their homes.

Once the Shadows stood in front of the three, one nodded towards Equinox “Equinox.. We were worried.” A feminine voice spoke through a solid black helm.  
Renida doesn’t meet their helms as she scanned their features, She knows them well.

“That one is unnecessary.” The Fireteam leader pointed to Faren with a annoyed stance.

“Ah, you see, apparently I did X’s job for HIM too..” 

The hooded woman tilted her head “You mean you found a vessel?” Equinox grinned as she took the bait, gesturing to the Awoken in question. “Yep.. There he is” 

Faren wondered what he meant, but known he did not like the sound of it, As Faren then shot a look.

Renida glances to Faren with confusion, unable to move closer as the Shadows stood their ground.  
“Equinox, all you had to do was get the gun and the girl.. The vessel was to be left for the boss.” This lady in question seemed agitated, like Equinox has done this before.  
A soft gasp escapes Renida at this point, barely audible as she realized why Equinox came back.

“Nacht, Have I EVER disappointed you?” there is a moment of silence as he relays all the time he has in fact, disappointed her. “Okay, never mind, but it’s rare.” As more silence continues he finally caved “....OKAY FINE I MESS UP ALL THE TIME, But this time, I’m sure of it.” Equinox turned away from Faren as he spoke, if he could gag he would.  
“He’s strong and he’s got the smarts to match him. He’s perfect.” Faren raised his brow as he couldn’t help the ‘he’s not wrong’ features to grace his face. 

The Shadow left a moment of dead air before she spoke “Fine..although I don’t trust them to come quietly.” She places a hand on her holster.

Equinox’s eyes dart to the weapon before continuing “Maybe an introduction is in order?..” “Great! Let’s get started!” He gestures towards the two “So this is Faren, Say Hi, Faren”  
“.....”  
“And this is Renida, say hi, Renida.” She looks towards the Shadows with an utterly terrified smile, waving for a moment before it fades and she rests her hand by her side again. 

“Guys, This is my good friend Nacht. She’s going to make the universe a better place n’ stuff.” 

Nacht corrected him “The term was, ‘Enlighten’ The universe..” 

“Right, forgot to mention she’s touchy.” He nodded as she gave him a dead stare through his mask.  
“You are on thin ice as it is. Don’t push it, Equinox”

He quickly bounced back “Message received.. Okay, but before you take us back to base, There’s something you have to see.. The Darkness is here and I already began the conversion of Lumina.”  
“Those were NOT your instructions”  
Nacht seethed as she took a step forward  
“The boss won’t be happy.”  
“Oh he will... he’s a very efficient man.” Equinox remained unbothered by the angry woman that stood before him “How many ships are present?”

He looked at his gloves as he spoke “I saw one. But I feel there’s more.”

Nacht nodded to her group “Leave then inside. My men will keep watch..” She gestured to the four by her side. “Set up patrol perimeter..” She then faced the two Guardians that stood before them “You two... inside.” “And Equinox, show me the one you have found.” 

Equinox grinned “You got it!” He waved the two inside as Faren clenches his fists and steps inside. Renida quickly follows with her head down.  
As the door shut behind them Faren growled “This is bad. They are planning on taking us!”  
Renida exhales a breath of air she didn’t realize she was holding “Now what..”

“We can’t go.. That’s what. I’ll fight them all if I have to.” Faren glared towards the door.

“Faren, let’s just think for a moment.. What did Equinox tell you?” 

“...He told me to tell the Drifter- but then he stopped.” Renida knitted her brow as she thought.  
Faren sighed “They May confiscate our weaponry..” 

“But you need Lumina.. Why? Are they trying to change you?” Renida eyed the cleansed weapon he held dear, it no longer shown in the light.

“I don’t think I was part of the plan at all.. I was more of an obstacle.” 

“But they agreed to take you too..” Renida spoke as the lights flickered for a moment.  
“Maybe he’s playing both sides” She said with broken hopefulness.

“Then he’s an enemy to both sides.” Faren noticed Renida’s look and continued his sentence “...Or an ally... It’s complicated”

She sighed “We should just go with them. Can you send a signal to the Vanguard?” She asked.

“These are very careful people. They will most likely jam our transmissions, then we will appear uncooperative.” 

“Then we’re stuck here..” Renida seemed to be remembering something “Unless..” Faren watched with confusion as she darted into the bedroom. He followed her as she was seen looking through every storage bin they had, muttering to herself as she moved stuff around.  
“I know I put it somewhere..”  
“What are you looking for?” Faren asked as she suddenly went ‘Aha!’ When she checked a small cabinet drawer.  
She turns to show him a small contraption, Old Tech, Something from the Dark Age.  
“This!” 

Faren stares for a second and blinks “....What’s this supposed to do?” He stares down at the rusted square piece of hardware, It looked barely operational.. Easily mistaken as junk.

“Dark age, it’s something that works on old frequency.” She flipped a switch with a quiet ‘click’ as a small symbol flashed on it for a few seconds before ‘WELCOME’ remained.

“Undetectable...” Faren spoke as Renida fumbled with the buttons “Dee gave this to me a long time ago.. It works, but..”  
“But?”  
“It can send a signal.. Just, Not as fast as we normally could.”

Faren thought on this, stepping down into the room “The only places I can think that have those same frequencies are Tourmaline’s house, from your room most likely.. The Drifter’s place, and probably the Library: History section - -Pre golden age tech.” 

“The most likely one to help us is The Drifter...”  
Faren never though he would have to say anything remotely similar to this sentence in his entire life, “I hate to say it., but we need him.” 

Renida turns some disks on the small item, messing about until a small buzzing sound escapes the frequency, She couldn’t hide the smile she formed as she heard Faren “You know, He’s better than you give him credit for..” 

Faren turned his nose at this “I doubt it..” he paused “But perhaps.. you know him better than I.” 

As she works on the Signal booster, he noticed there was no microphone located whatsoever.

“He talks about you a lot, ya know” Renida says as she fumbles with some buttons  
“Me?... Also where’s the microphone?.. Did it break?..”

“Oh you won’t find one on here, instead look—“ She completely dodges his question, showing him each button represents a letter list. 

“Fascinating...” Faren watched from over her shoulder. It was limited to a few options but she was currently typing with ease ‘Shadows. Emergency Signal. Boosted. Code 6.’

A discussion from outside caused them to straighten quickly, Faren pointed down the hall “Move to the bathroom.” As soon as Renida made it inside the door, Equinox busted through the front door with a cheery  
“We’re back!’ 

Faren made up a rather bad excuse, Equinox eyes him for a moment before calling out to the Shadows “Hey, uh just a sec, they’re getting their stuff ready!” Equinox said as he closed the door in the Shadow’s face.  
“Faren.. They are going to take Lumina. Whatever happens, I need you to not fight them.”

As the contraption finished retyping everything she chose, it started a small timer..  
7................6..............5.........

“Act like I’ve convinced you to doubt the light at the very least” Equinox said as Faren remained suspicious, only responding with a curt “I will try..”

..........4..........3..........2..............

“Equinox are they ready?”

1.......processing.............processing........ Complete. signal boosted. Thank you.

“Almost we just-“ “I’m tired of waiting... Bring them out, now!” 

Equinox groaned “Okay, okay, Yeesh.” 

Renida shuts it off and places it in one of her inner robe pockets. A knock coming from the door  
“Renida, are you done yet?” Faren called from outside, during her rush she did not notice her Gambit coin sliding out to become more visible without her knowledge.  
“Y-Yeah!” She opened the door, seeing both waiting for her.  
“Alright, lets go.”  
Nacht was already yelling once more outside, her patience completely through as she was about to go in herself before the three stepped outside.  
Faren nods to Renida before they exit.

Renida clenches her first to stop it from trembling as they started to follow the group towards a mountain side.

“Alright, everyone ready?” Equinox asked like a dad ready for a camping trip.

With no reply he continues happily leading them to the parked ship just on the mountain ahead.

She ship was small, though a larger ship could be seen in the atmosphere.

Nacht pushes past them as she made her way inside the smaller aircraft, the others remaining on the exterior with their weapons and eyes glued on the three before them.

“So.... you guys ready?” Equinox rolled his head to look over at the two from his left shoulder.  
“...As I’ll ever be.” Faren muttered as he shared a small glare.  
Renida looks to Faren and nods, her eyes watching the Exo walk from them and towards the door.

“Ladies first..”  
Equinox bows and extends his hand towards the open ship door, waiting patiently as Renida stood there for a moment.

Renida hesitates, not trusting this, what if they just shut the door behind her?  
She finally urges herself to take small steps towards the entrance.

“It’s alright..” Equinox spoke calmly as she got closer, finally she straightened herself and walked with what bravery she had.

As Equinox waited for her to pass and give him one of her silly faces that she would always do during their missions, He was met with not even a mere glance, not even a glare.. In fact she pretended he didn’t even exist for a moment.

His Ego was hurt. 

“Get in there, Faren.” Equinox bounces back, but not quite.

In the ship there is only a small amount of seats and space, As Renida found her place to sit she guided her robes to lay neatly beneath her.

Once they were all seated the ships doors closed and in seconds the engines started.

As They took one last look out the window they could see almost the entire village was crowded in the streets, watching the ship taking off.

Renida remains silent but doesn’t leave Faren’s side, giving a silent prayer to whoever to watch over their village.

“There is far too little space for all the passengers, so it is cramped.” Equinox started “I love these guys. They’re all chatter-boxes.” 

“Seems like you’ve found better company” Renida absentminded messes with her wrist.  
“Oh, yeah these guys are great. They won’t tell me their names.. Or anything for that matter, so I have given them my own fake identities.” 

“.......” 

“this-“ he leans on one of the Shadows’ shoulders “—Is Walbert.”

Renida looks at him with a raised brow, still mad at him.  
“He has seventeen children back on IO, and his favorite hobbies are cooking and fishing..”

She finds herself getting harder to stay angry, Faren is unamused at best.

Must... resist... stupid... jokes—

A small audible snort is heard from her. 

Renida exchanges an ‘I’m sorry’ look to Faren “There is Spornoby, Spornoby here owned a small banking business before the Red Legion attacked, but now sells rotten tomatoes on the back street of a dock as a hobby, Oh! And he plays Harmonica as well!” 

“This is idiotic.” Faren muttered as Nacht spoke up “Thank you. finally someone agrees with me!”

Equinox beamed “You two are perfect for each other!”  
Renida has to look out the window to stop herself from smirking. No! She was mad! Must resist! Be serious! 

“Shut up” Faren and Nacht say almost simultaneously.  
After a moment Nacht continues “We’re here.”

The small shuttle docks on the main ship, It is three times the size of the Derelict.

Renida instantly stops messing with her wrist, her bandage showing and looking rough from picking at the seams. Once she notices she tucks it back in her glove and waits further instructions.

The shuttle door opens and they are lead out to a huge hangar.

“Alright, Take the girl and put her in Cell B4,” Nacht spoke in a commanding tone “The man, Cell X.” She turned and walked away from them as it dawned on the two they would be separated  
“Wait wha-“ Before Renida could finish, two Shadows lead her away from a secretly fuming Faren that seemed to go quietly with two other Shadows, and a unreadable Equinox. 

She was alone.


	4. Meeting the Boss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Boss who claimed himself as X has come to speak with Renida.

Chapter 4  
Faren’s face remains unaltered as they escort him down the hall to the left. Renida has to quicken her step as the two push her, she’s too busy looking back towards her friends..

“It’s not personal, Guys, Really!” Equinox called after them both, watching them go out of sight. 

As Renida makes it inside the cell, she turns to see them slam it shut and lock it with ease. They leave without another word. The cells were connected by a wall, you wouldn’t know they were unless you happened to look up at the small opening covered with bars. Too tall for Renida to look through but Faren could see at least part of through the bars.

Faren sits on his knees in the center of his cell, his eyes closing as he takes this time to meditate, While he could hear through the bars behind him that Renida wasn’t willing to wait. 

Once the Shadows left, she scanned the whole perimeter as she began to get claustrophobic. While she wrung her hands together she made her way to the door and got down on her knees, tucking a stand of hair behind her ear as she started to try and break the lock unsuccessfully.

“Hello, Dear.”

The haunting voice of someone new enters the otherwise quiet atmosphere, Renida looked up from the lock and stood, backing away quickly from the door “Who are you?!” She asked the hooded man.

The mysterious man tilted his hood as she could not see his face, in fact every bit of his armor was dawned with Black and dark purple accent..  
“That doesn’t matter right now, did my people hurt you?” He asked.

Renida studies the person for a moment before shaking her head, his height considerably taller than hers and she could tell he was a hunter, of sorts.. “That’s a relief.. You,” he turned to look towards a Shadow “Escort her to my office at once.” The Shadows ducked their head as the Hooded man walked past, only uttering a small “Yes, my Lord..” 

As the Shadow opened the door with a loud creak, they regarded the Warlock “With me.. And don’t try anything.” Renida walks with the Shadow but doesn’t put up a fight, instead she just squints at the Shadow, following them with a defensive posture. 

“Renida, Where are they taking you?” Faren slightly looses his composure.

“Shut up, Warlock” the Shadow spat as they shot a glare. 

When Renida sees him she doesn’t skip a beat as she grabs onto the bars of Faren’s cell “I’m not quite sure,” 

The Shadow grabbed at her shoulder with a loud “Get off!” She steps back from the cell, frowning as she looked towards the Shadow.. “Hey,” Faren spoke once more “Go, don’t be a hero, alright?.. Stay safe!”   
Renida nodded to him with a soft “Alright.. You too,” before being ushered to the doors of the Office. 

The door was large and barely lit as it looked down at her with a hunger she couldn’t quite point, this entire place seemed to feed off of your light.. It was sickening.

“Go on in.” The Shadow spoke as they stand guard behind her.

When she opened the door it was completely silent, even the person behind her seemed to be absolutely still.. Renida’s small footsteps was the only haunting noise that followed as she took in the surroundings of the room. The fire barely illuminated the place, It seemed that the Darkness itself was looming ever present with them.   
Items of lost remnants were organized around the desk that the Mystery man sat at. Renida stands by the door and looks towards the Boss with concern growing. 

Her light struggling to maintain in this room.   
“Please, sit..” He spoke while gesturing to one of the chairs resting in front of his desk “Make yourself comfortable, Rose.”

“How do you know-“ Her mind tracked every moment for a time when she used her given last name, but could not think of it. She walked closer as she started “Look, you must have me mistaken-“ 

“No.” He spoke rather firmly. “You are sensitive to the visions of the Traveler, Yes?... But also that of the Darkness?” 

Renida doesn’t answer him but he could read her expression, she was terrified, like a wounded animal wanting to flee. She knew what he was on about, and maybe inside she hoped that he could help her. If only. 

As she took a seat she still looked on edge, remaining silent.

“Thirsty?” He gestured out towards the open air.

No, I’m fine.” 

“No I cant have that, you’re important here, you know.” As he lifts his hand, a figure moves across the far side of the room and out the door without a word.. The figure was impossible to see in the Darkness due to the black armor their black robes.

She glanced towards the figure as they left, really wishing she could join that Shadow and just leave. “Look, I’m not sure why I’m here..”

“That is why we are about to talk.. But first, an introduction... You haven’t fully grown into your abilities yet, So you don’t know about me..” he paused and straightened himself.

“So I must tell you. Ahem.”

Renida waited as the man began, crossing her legs as she remained perfectly still.  
“Let’s start with this.. I am not from here.. in fact, I am from somewhere much better.” 

“....” Renida raised a brow, not quite onboard with his story already.

“It’s so confining in this universe, But soon..” He let out a long sigh “...I shall return.” After a moment of letting the air linger, he spoke once more “My name is Shin Malphur.” 

“I understand I’m a hero here, yes?”

“Shin?” Renida looked shocked, the man of legends standing here but altered.. Even lesser guardians knew of the Man with the Golden Gun.   
She pauses her questions and nods “You were, once..” 

He nodded “Well., I am not YOUR Malphur, I’m from a world where the Light became corrupted by.. Well, I wouldn’t want to give that away.. But,” he held a finger in the air as his leather gloves made a satisfied sound.  
“I kept killing, and killing...And eating.. But it wasn’t enough.” 

“Dueling Yor was so much more fun..” 

Renida felt sick to her stomach at this, what a monster.. 

“So...I devised a plan.” He leaned back in his chair while he continued “I would make my way here and finish off YOUR Dredgen Yor,” His hand formed into a fist “Unfortunately, He was dead.” 

“You.. You killed him a long time ago,” Her voice wavering as he shook his head.

“YOUR Malphur did.. Not me.”

“Well, not you but.. You... yeah it’s complicated” Renida gave a small shrug. 

“Ah, I see. We can speak of it like that if you wish.” 

She messed with the fabric of her robes as she tried to learn more “So this other world..” 

“Yes?”

Renida looked down as she asked “What is it like? If the Traveler was to say.. Change?” 

Shin Malphur let out a sigh of longing, a wish to be home. But he wouldn’t be satisfied till he finished his mission. “It’s very beautiful. Some think there’s too much red..But red everything suits me just fine.”

Red. A color she was very familiar with. 

“So you don’t have any reason to stay here.. Why not go back?” She followed up her reasoning “Yor is dead.”

“Not completely.. His essence lives on in the relic closest to him. Namely, Thorn.” 

“And to bring him back, I would need a vessel.”

Renida starts to try and piece things together, her mind wandering to Equinox with his Thorn and then to Faren and Lumina. 

It starts to make sense.

She squinted as she spoke softly “So you want... To make my friend become Yor.. Just to kill him again?” 

“Not permanently.” He added.. “He May kill ME!” Shin seemed to get excited at the thrill of it all “It will be fun to be faced with wondering.. ‘Will I win this time?’” 

“This isn’t right.”

“Right of wrong is out of the question.” His hidden face trained on hers, she tried further to reason with him “But the man you once knew is dead, Why must you continue to hurt other people in his name?” 

“I assure you. Not one person has been touched by me in your world.”

“Yet.” 

“Yet?”

Renida’s eyes trained on where his eyes barely shown “You haven’t hurt anyone, Yet.”

An uncanny laugh filled the room, one holding so much irony it caused Renida to flinch at it.   
“..Fine, I DO plan on taking two people.. Neither of them I will hurt.. That is, if they don’t resist.” 

As her mouth parts to ask, a figure comes in with a traditional tea tray. The smell of tea... and something else, faintly grew as they made their way over to rest it on the desk. 

Renida looks over the options, still unsure.

“I always default to tea..But, if you’d prefer something else.. Hot chocolate is a fan favorite, if I’m not mistaken?” 

“I’d rather not..” Renida looked towards the hot chocolate, her biggest weakness.

“Well, you don’t have to drink..” He took his cup of..Something.. and brought it closer to himself, It appears black against the low lighting, but there’s a barely-visible red tint.

She takes the hot chocolate gingerly, but doesn’t drink it as she balances it on her lap with steady hands. Renida is absentminded staring at his cup, the glint giving her an uncomfortable shiver. 

“I came here for three things.” He spoke on the edge of his cup, taking it away from his face. “The essence, The vessel, And.. You.” 

Her eyes don’t leave the cup until he finishes, looking up at him with horror “What?!”

“You can easily supply more than enough power to finish the ritual.”

“No! I’m not helping you that way.. but maybe..” she tilted her head “I could talk you out of it?..” 

“LISTEN!” He yelled suddenly, snapping as his patience grew slim to none.   
Renida jumps at this, her hand resting at her hip where her gun would normally rest, her chest rising and falling quickly as she stared at him. He regained his composure.

“...Listen....”

“I didn’t say I needed you...” He was leaning forward, his hood blocking everything except for his mouth. “But you WILL remain in the company of the Shadows of Yor.” 

“But my friends..” 

“You have no friends.” 

“Not true.. I have.. A lot of friends” She thought back on her family. 

“Each one is trying to pull you to their side, You aren’t their friend. You’re an asset.” He could see her breaking at this, her mind racing with different excuses. “If they cared about you, they would let YOU decide.. But that’s how everyone is without the wisdom of the Winnower” 

“No.. N-no that isn’t..” Renida starts to think back on how Equinox got them into this mess.. Even Faren told her to mess up the ship in their gain. 

“They all just take, take, take, take, TAKE, TAKE!” He growls, squinting in anger.

“And I’m sick of it.” 

Renida snaps out of her thoughts, shaking her head and looking at him, hurt.

“You’ve been playing their silly little games, being used by all sides at once.” 

“You put yourself in the middle, trying to be a pacifist.” 

She couldn’t respond..

“But all that’s going to happen? You will be loved by no one, for you will be enemies with everyone.” He glared at her, his eyes shining in the dark shadows.  
“A side must be chosen.” 

“Even if it’s the wrong side.”


	5. Shin Malphur

“No.. Not yet.. I-I’m.. I’m not ready-“ Renida bit her lip as she looked down at her cup..

“Tsk, tsk, tsk, You really haven’t noticed?” He spoke as he caught her attention, her orange eyes looking through her bangs towards the man, visibly confused.

“The Vanguard wanted to use you as a spy.. Equinox used you to get close to Zircon.. Zircon used you as his will to irritate that Exo, And The Drifter used you to learn about your plans of your Vanguard.”

“. . . . .”

“When he looks at you, he sees Motes.” Shin continues, watching her frame start to shake.

“No he doesn’t!” She looked up at him snapping as her eyes seemed to tear up.

He could help but twitch a slight smirk at the sight.

“You’re wrong! You and everyone else in this system..” 

“No, I’m the only one who’s noticed the web of suppression you’ve been put under, Girl!”

As she started to get frustrated, her wrist started to burn with a cold feeling.. One of abandonment. She stifled a noise and gripped it secretly. She has to keep a strong grip on her cup as it twitches painfully. Shin smirks down at her, his eyes trailing. 

“They’re afraid of you.. Of your Taken power.”

“The Drifter seems to wield you as a weapon. You DO know he controls Taken for a living...” he regards her, and he can see a slimmer of hope flake away.

“Not Dee. He wouldn’t.. I am just trying to keep everyone together.” Tears start to fall. 

“But everyone naturally breaks apart.. And then they all, How did he put it?. Start dying off.” 

“Not when we have the Traveler.” 

He couldn’t help but laugh “The Traveler?.. It made one move.” “One.”  
“And what did it do in that one instance? It destroyed a thief, and summed the Darkness to Earth.”  
“That’s why the Winnower has moved her forces here.”

“The Winnower?...” 

He looked offended she didn’t know, meeting her gaze “The sister of the Gardener. The true final shape.” 

“The First Knife.” 

“.....Sounds Taken.” Renida has heard this term before.

“Better than those corrupted, half-breeds.. It’s pure, and simple.”  
“Yes and No..” “That is how the Winnower thinks.”

She takes a sip from the hot chocolate, risking it at this point. “Sounds horrible.. You can’t question anything.. That’s why you struggled.” She started, looking right at him.  
“You already killed your Yor, you couldn’t say ‘What if.’ Only Yes or no...”  
“So in turn, it drove you crazy.” 

He diminished her claims with a simple wave “I have witnessed truth.. Pure and simple.”  
“Did I kill Yor? Yes..”  
“Is there a way? Yes..” 

“Shin.. You want to use Faren as the vessel, don’t you?”

“Equinox said he would do..so..” Shin watched as she went to take another sip, choking on it for a second and setting the cup back.

She coughed in her arm softly for a moment as she had inhaled her drink.  
“Equinox agreed, to that?” She pauses “Okay he would, I’m not surprised-“

Shin looked towards the door “Then he brought me that boy out there.. I’m starting to believe he’s too stupid and a coward..” 

“Nacht, come here a second!” He called out, The Shadow was there in an instant “Yes, Sir?”

Meanwhile in Faren’s cell..  
He opened his journal from where he sat, his pen scribbling softly as he wrote out what he assumed to be their final message..  
“The Shadows have come and taken me and Renida into custody.. This may be my last entry.”  
He turned the page with a soft flip 

“You mean a lot to me.”

He stopped writing.. 

Shin tilted his head to look to Nacht who stood by the door

“Tell me, How did Equinox join our ranks?..”

“....He— Begged, Sir...”  
Renida watches Nacht, internally face palming.  
“It was the end of my shift—“ Nacht went to continue, Shin held up a hand.

“That’s enough. You may go.”  
Nacht walks out of the room, knowing that she would have a conversation later about it with Malphur.

“So he’s a little desperate but-... He is a perfect candidate, Even if he begged.” 

“He is weak in mind.” Shin stared at the door, his mind already made.

“Yor was cunning, intelligent. And strong of body..”  
“And I’m sure the weapon could fix that.. Think of it as he hasn’t been, Upgraded?” She took a sip of her hog chocolate as she felt herself tense, if she could sweat, she would probably need a life vest. 

“Yes.. The weapon will fix him.. One last time” 

Renida almost sighed in relief “So you don’t need Faren,”

“You must understand.”

Her heart sank.

“I don’t need the Exo.”

She then worried for Equinox, these men were going to make her go bald.  
“Then let him go free.”

“....Free?” You think I’m holding him here?”  
She nodded, finishing up her hot chocolate.  
“He doesn’t even work for pay.”

“...Wait..” Renida always thought he got something out of this, maybe intel, pay, or wasn’t able to leave. 

She sat her cup down. “...No.”

“No?” His interest was piqued.  
“He wouldn’t just work for someone- Someone like you! Without a reason,” Suddenly her head started to burn, she put a hand to her temple as a headache began to form.

“Stop. Humming.” She spoke through gritted teeth as the sound of his voice seemed to be a single key note that held in a pitch that made it hard to think. 

“I’m not humming..” Shin eyed her with a flicker of confusion.

“Yes you are..” Renida glared up at him, Her eyes looking unkind for once. 

“Perhaps you’re exhausted.” He seemed to study her.

She shook her head, trying to ignore it as she sat up “No.. I’m not leaving till my friends are okay.” 

“Your friends will remain safe. Although, the Awoken won’t be himself again after the Ritual..” 

“Choose.. Someone... Else.” Her voice was eerily calm.

“....No.”

She rose up quickly, her height remained small as she stood there, one hand clenched her around her wrist while she seemed more hunched over. “I’m not asking..”  
the voices in her head were whispering, but nothing made any sense. Words of forbidden languages were eating away.

Her squint was deadly, her body was poised to make a move. He remained seated “Neither am I..” he made little movement as he rang a bell that once remained stationary on his desk.

As the bell chimes through the air, the whispers instantly silenced.. Renida closed her eyes as she suddenly looked sad, tired.. Defeated. Three guards instantly made their way into the room without a moment of delay.  
“Sir, is there a problem?”

“....” Shin regarded Renida for a moment, seeing her submit without any threat. 

“No.. I don’t think so.”

Renida frowns, remaining there as she doesn’t look up.. She messed up.

“You have potential.. But you are skilled enough as you are.” Shin’s voice echoed in her mind as he paused.

“The Ritual will begin soon.. Go rest beforehand.” “Please escort her to her cell, Gentlemen.” They nod to their boss.

She seemed too tired to argue, but boy did she she want to.. Instead, she puts a hand to her temple as she seemed sluggish, setting her own pace.

“Goodbye.” His voice carried as he was met with silence. 

“Let’s go.” 

Renida didn’t care if the Shadows were impatient. She was tired and took her time.. This headache was going to kill her.. The Shadows just kept talking. And Talking. And TALKING!

“Renida...” a familiar voice spoke out through the void, one that she couldn’t tell if it was real or another vision, she looked to her left to see Faren standing in his cell, close to the bars with a concerned look.

“I said be quiet. Or you’ll regret it.” The Shadow threatened Faren as he didn’t even look toward the Shadow. 

“W-Wait... Renida, what happened?” Faren looked desperate, she blinked as her vision was fuzzy, crossing her arms against herself in a hugging manner. It was so cold in this place.

“I-“ She felt a rough grip on her shoulder, whimpering as she looked towards the Shadow, they were testing her patience. 

“Abandon..” she said weakly, one simple word that meant more than they could ever know. 

“One more word out of you, and you’ll WISH you were in the clutches of Oryx himself.” The Shadow threatened as the hand dug painfully into her shoulder, but their vision was trained on the other Warlock inside his Cell, pointing aggressively with their other hand. 

Faren remained silent, but his eyes widened at her statement. 

She looks towards the Shadow to ask him to let go, wanting to really tell him to shove it.. But her legs get weak and she nods to Faren.. Her head was killing her. 

Faren sighed, unable to say anything as he watches them leave for a final time..

As she makes her way towards the cell, she reaches for a wall for support.. “Does anyone have any Advel?” She sees a steadily glare coming from the Shadow and stops “No talking, got it..” She stands in front of her Cell. 

“Get inside.” They slam it behind her, causing her to flinch as a rough pulse of her head becomes so strong she has to sit down.

As it starts to grow more dim in the room, she starts to cry as she realizes she messed it up. She couldn’t talk him out of it. It’s all her fault.

“Faren.. Leave...!” 

“Did you say something?” He stood and looks through the vent, unable to see her from her spot on the floor.

“Take up your knife.. Or be Forsaken..” she didn’t hear him, she could only speak for someone else. 

“Bang, he’s going to shoot you down.” The voices spoke through her, to her.. Not for her..

Faren couldn’t make out what she was saying, remaining there as he stood confused. 

“Faren, We’re going to die.. I can see it..” 

“.....What?”

“....You will die.” She started to cry harder, staring at the wall as the visions shown her everything. “It’s all my fault.. I couldn’t even stop him.”

Faren tried to get a glimpse of so much as her hair, unable to. “...Don’t worry.. You won’t have to stop anything.”

Renida shook her head, standing and moving to rest on her tippy toes as she peaked through the vent. “Faren, When that door opens..”

“.....?” 

“Just get out of here..” she spoke in a panicked whisper.

“I’m not leaving you.”

“I’m not going to let you die.” Renida whimpered. 

“I won’t- what DID they do to you?..” Faren asked as he could see the fear in her eyes, his jaw clenched. 

“This guy is calling himself Shin.. He wants you to be.. Target practice..” 

He raised his brow as he tried to calm her “I’ve dodged bullets before.”

“No.. Faren.. He’s not from here.. Or OUR world.” Her voice started to get a bit louder. 

“You mean to say he’s extraterrestrial?” Faren looked confused.

“No.. I don’t.. I don’t know-“ “he’s from another world.. Another Traveler.. “

She sniffles as she continued “But it’s not like ours.. he talked about murdering people.. Faren, he’s coming for you.”

“Another Traveler?...” Faren repeated, his mind racing with possibilities.

“He killed Yor and found it so enjoyable, That he wants you to be the next Yor...!” She struggled to stay in view as her legs grew tired.

“....The next YOR!?” Faren was truly taken back.

“Yes! He wants to kill you!” Renida started to cry harder, her heart breaking.

“A-and he wants me to help him..” “He said-.......” she couldn’t finish her sentence. 

“....I see....” 

“Faren I don’t want to hurt you..” tears poured from her eyes.

“You could never hurt me..” 

She sniffles, it becomes too painful to even look at him anymore.. “What have we gotten ourselves into...” she started to slip.

“No.. Don’t think like that.” He called after her, as she seemed to be sinking from view.

“This signal might not even work.. No one knows we are here.. Faren, We’ve failed..” 

She finally crumbled to her knees, looking towards the bars from below. 

“They are-...” Faren lowers his voice “-They are coming...” 

“Be careful..” she wipes at her eyes but she couldn’t stop the steady flow of tears.

‘I’m sorry Faren, I just can’t seem to stop crying.....’

Faren wrote one final entry in his journal before stuffing it inside of the wall deposit.

“Renida, it wasn’t your fault. Live your life to the fullest, Oreo.”


End file.
